John List
| John List | |
|---|---|
Mugshot of John List, c.2005
|
|
| Born |
John Emil List September 17, 1925 Bay City, Michigan, U.S. |
| Died | March 21, 2008 (aged 82) Trenton, New Jersey, U.S. |
| Cause of death | Complications of pneumonia |
| Nationality | American |
| Other names | Robert Peter "Bob" Clark |
| Occupation | Accountant |
| Criminal charge | Five counts of first degree murder |
| Criminal penalty | Five consecutive life terms |
| Criminal status | Deceased |
| Spouse(s) |
Helen List (m. 1951; d. 1971) Delores Miller Clark (m. 1985; div. 1989) |
| Children |
|
| Parent(s) | John Frederick List (1859–1944) Alma Hubinger List (1887–1971) |
|
Time at large
|
17 years, 6 months, 23 days |
| Killings | |
| Date | November 9, 1971 |
| Country | United States |
| Location(s) | Westfield, New Jersey |
| Target(s) |
|
| Killed | 5 |
| Weapons | |
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Date apprehended
|
June 1, 1989 |
| Imprisoned at | May 1, 1990 |
John Emil List (September 17, 1925 – March 21, 2008) was a convicted multiple murderer and long-time fugitive. On November 9, 1971, he killed his wife, mother, and three children in their home at 431 Hillside Avenue in Westfield, New Jersey, then disappeared. He had planned the murders so meticulously that nearly a month passed before anyone noticed that anything was wrong.
A fugitive from justice for nearly 18 years, List assumed a new identity and remarried. He was finally apprehended in Virginia on June 1, 1989, after the story of his murders was broadcast on the television program America's Most Wanted. After extradition to New Jersey, he was convicted on five counts of first-degree murder and sentenced to five consecutive terms of life imprisonment without parole.
List cited critical financial problems, and his perception that his family was falling away from God, as his rationale. Killing them, he reasoned, would assure their souls a place in Heaven, where he hoped eventually to join them. He died in prison in 2008 at the age of 82.
Born in Bay City, Michigan, List was the only child of German American parents, John Frederick List (1859–1944) and Alma Maria Barbara Florence (Hubinger) List (1887–1971). Like his father, he was a devout Lutheran and a Sunday school teacher. In 1943, he enlisted in the Army and served in the infantry as a laboratory technician during World War II. After his discharge in 1946, he enrolled at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, where he earned a bachelor's degree in business administration and a master's degree in accounting, and was commissioned a second lieutenant in the ROTC.
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